Planet of the Apes UK Live Show
In late 1975, shortly after the Planet of the Apes TV series had been shown in the UK, a deal was reached between Marvel Comics UK, the publishers of the Planet of the Apes Comic, and Television Character Promotions (TCP), a small and relatively inexperienced PR and promotions company, who launched the official Planet of the Apes Fan Club that December. The small UK Marvel team could barely process the sacks-full of Apes-related mail pouring into their offices each and every week, and the obvious solution was to reach a deal with an officially recognised fan club, so that Marvel could offload all its fan mail to another company, and each could then promote the work of the other. TCP had secured not only the franchise to run a fan club endorsed by Marvel and recognised by Fox, but also rights for arranging the 'personal appearances' and 'public performances' by Apes characters which occurred across the UK between 1975-1977 - this live work being a more lucrative proposition – and in this TCP excelled themselves. Run from a tiny office in Piccadilly, London, TCP comprised a staff of five: the man who started it all, 'Big' Mike Caulfield ("6 feet 3 1/2 inches of pure ape-like muscle") who thought up all the ideas and dealt with the financial side of the club; Sally, who looked after the members' record-cards, etc.; Mike McCarthy, who was Technical Advisor and Fight Director for all the live appearances of the Apes; June, who probably had the hardest job of all - keeping all the costumes clean and in good repair, and was also responsible for the make-up and authentic appearance of the Ape stars; and Peter Caulfield, 'Big' Mike's smaller brother, who edited the newsletter and answered queries. The Fan Club was launched in November 1975. The January 1976 newsletter featured Roddy McDowall's biography, and backed by full-page ads in the Marvel Apes comic, the club was claiming membership of 1200 by May 1976, from as far away as Brazil and Canada. Fans sending in their £1 annual subscription received an Apes Starter Pack – a selection of pens, car stickers, badges and prints – and the promise of a bi-monthly newsletter. The newsletters were at best a pretty uninformative ten-minute read, but the highlight was always the reports of Ape appearances ‘in the flesh’. The club provided live Ape events of two types: (1) personal appearances by a couple of costumed characters, who would pose for photographs with fans and offer ape autographs, at supermarkets and shopping centres; and (2) set-piece live shows performed by a full cast, which would usually form part of a larger entertainment bill at circuses and festivals. The September 1976 newsletter offered a competition prize of "a colour picture of Urko autographed by the Apes currently touring the UK. They are: Galen, Urko, Dr. Zaius, Zako, Orack, Plato, Nero, and Virgil. Also we will get the Astros to sign it"..."the astronauts are fully rehearsed 'stand-ins' for Virdon and Burke" (the two competition prize-winners were Nigel Lancashire of Rochdale and Robin Tucker of London). Right from the start these shows attracted considerable interest. A 'live synopsis' distributed to audiences at the live shows, introduced newcomers to the world of Galen, Burke, Urko and Virdon, and pledged: "Today you are seeing the first live show presentation of the Planet of the Apes. You are seeing authentic characters who will enact a specially prepared show with live action and an original soundtrack." A partial list of the Apes live apparances: 1975: * November 27, 28, 29, 30: The Racecourse, Wolverhampton (live show, as part of the 'Circus Hoffman', "featuring Galen, Dr Zaius, Urko and his Gorillas") * November or December: Selfridges, London (personal appearance, possibly featuring Galen and Urko, attended by Apes fan 'Vanessa') * December 22 - January 17 1976: Christmas Circus, City Hall, Newcastle (live show, as part of the 'Circus Hoffman', "featuring Galen, Dr Zaius, Urko and his Gorillas") 1976: * (Before May 1976): Wollaston Recreation Ground, Stourbridge (live show, as part of 'Hoffmans Circus'; Andrew Shakespeare - club member 478 and 'ace reporter of the month' - wrote a review of this show which was printed in the newsletter: "Inside the tent there was a Planet of the Apes stall where I bought a colour picture of Dr. Zaius and one of Urko, a black and white one of Galen and a Dr. Zaius badge. There was an interval during the performance and in it one could have their photograph taken with Galen. After the interval the Apes came into the ring, then the astronauts, then Dr. Zaius and Urko. When the audience saw the gorillas and their leader they started booing, then gave a cheer as the renegade ape, Galen , hopped into the ring. The gorillas caught the astronauts and put them in a cage then started chasing Galen, firing their guns at him. Galen climbed on one of the poles and then, when he came down again, was chased through the audience. A gorilla rushed up to where I was sitting and fired his rifle. It gave out a terrific 'BANG'. Galen escaped the gorillas and jumped back into the ring, where he knocked down Dr Zaius. Quickly he released the astronauts as Urko rode up. An astronaut pulled him off his horse and they started fighting. Soon Urko was lying flat on the ground and Galen rode off with the astronauts leaving Dr Zaius, Urko and the gorillas either tired or knocked out. At the end of the performance the Apes gave their autographs. I have got Galen's five times, Urko's four times, Zaius' once and another gorilla's (Virgil) three times. I had a lovely time and it was very enjoyable.") * (Before May 1976): TCP’s Ape characters featured on ITV’s kids’ quiz show Runaround * (Before May 1976): Oxford (probably a personal appearance) * (Before May 1976): Debenhams, Southampton (where they "were very well received" - presumably a personal appearance) * April: Battersea Easter Parade ("ten gorilla soldiers were there, along with Galen, Urko and Zaius, and three human slaves. They even got on the ITN news.") * (around May / June 1976?): Rochdale Football Club Ground (live show, as recalled by Apes fan Neil Foster: "We got a full show with actors, stunt people and horses. They did a whole rodeo-type thing with gorillas on horses chasing the humans, catching the humans who then escaped, and were chased again, etc, there were also a few scrap cars and stunt cars at one stage. The acting wasn't brilliant because they had microphones on, and the script was a little basic, but they did interact with the crowd. I think it was stunts show more than an acting performance”.) * (Before September 1976) Rochdale (personal appearance, "they were mobbed by 3,500 fans when they appeared at a supermarket") * May 23: West Midlands Safari Park * May 30, 31: Moor Park, Preston (billed as tour, "80,000 people watched the arena show" in Preston) * May 31: Bishops Stortford, Essex (billed as tour) * June 5: Codicote Village Fayre * June 12: Engayne School, Upminster, Essex (billed as tour, "Engayne School raised about £650 at their summer fair, with a little help from Galen and Urko.") * June 12: Chesham Fayre (billed as tour) * June 12, 13: Roundhay Park, Leeds (billed as tour, "55,000 people") * June 17: Camden Passage Festival, London ('6pm - midnight') * June 20: West Midlands Safari Park (possibly - they were hoping to return on this date) * June 26: Hereford United Football Club (billed as tour) * June 26: Banbury Town Carnival (billed as tour) * July 3: Carlisle * (Before September 1976): Southend (personal appearance, "Gorilla warrior Orak went on the annual taxi drivers outing for handicapped and deprived children.") * (Before September 1976): Doncaster (arena show, club member 418, John Sellars, sent the newsletter a report and cutting about this show) * (Before September 1976): High Wycombe (arena show, the May 1976 newsletter publicised a Mastermind questionaire, to be published in Marvel Comic's Planet of the Apes Magazine towards the end of May. The first prize was a day out with the Apes at one of their summer venues. This was won by Nigel Botham, who collected his "day out with the Apes and sundries" at High Wycombe and was to write a report on it for a future newsletter.) * (Before September 1976): Glasgow (arena show, "the best reception came from Scotland, where they have never seen the Apes before") * (Before September 1976): Edinburgh (arena show, "Our Fight Director, Mike McCarthy was playing the part of gorilla Zako at Edinburgh, and before the end of the first show landed a broken nose. One of the Astros forgot to pull his punch and hit Mike right on the conk". In the November 1976 'Birthday Issue' newsletter McCarthy wrote "the incident was one that can easily happen, but shouldn't, in a carefully arranged stage fight...It was a combination of factors; firstly, the hectic timetable of the 'Apes Tour' was such that the opportunities for rehearsing the fights were few. Secondly, we had been travelling through the night from London to Edinburgh and tiredness had begun to set in, resulting in a lack of concentration. Thirdly, the most important reason, complacency. We had all done the fights so many times that we became robot-like, going through the sequences without thinking about what we were doing. All these factors culminated in a misjudgement of about two inches, which was all that was necessary to do the damage. It should never have happened and I'll make sure it doesn't again, if only for my nose's sake.") * (Before September 1976): Cleethorpes (arena show) * (Before September 1976): Wrexham (arena show) * (Before September 1976): Brockenhurst, New Forest (arena show, "Now that was some show.... At the point when Galen uses a bomb to blow up the gorillas, there was nearly chaos. The bomb usually leaves a scorch mark about 12" diameter. However the grass was so dry that with an almighty Whoooosh! the scorch mark became a 15-foot circle of flame. As Galen reached the astronauts to untie them, he looked round and saw Urko and his gorillas trying to stamp out the fire. At least it gave him the chance to escape...") * (circa 1976): Windmill Theatre (according to a poster printed in 'Simian Scrolls' fanzine, "featuring Galen, Urko, Dr Zaius") The September 1976 newsletter stated "the Ape's season will be over until Christmas, so there is little chance of seeing them again this year, but you never know"; it also said "the Apes are bound to be active around the Christmas period either on stage or with a photographic concession in a large department store. I suggest that you watch this space for details. Bookings are already coming in for the August Bank holiday 1977, with four apes attending a fair at the Newbury Park Synogogue near Ilford, Essex, on August 29th. Don't worry, we will keep you informed as best we can as to the movements of these hairy heroes." The November issue further said "the British Apes are currently taking a well earned rest", and it seems the live shows were not staged again beyond the late summer of 1976. Stage Show While the arena shows were at their height, TCP ambitiously decided to add another string to their bow and the May 1976 newsletter proudly announced the forthcoming Planet of the Apes stage play: "At last, the highly successful "Planet of the Apes" comes to the stage. Action, Drama and Excitement. Fun for all the family. 19th July for five weeks. Book now." That September they printed a glowing review of the two parallel productions of the stage show: "So at last it happened. The long-awaited stage production of the Planet Of The Apes. The World Premier was on July 19th at the Theatre Royal in Stratford, London E15. It played there until 20th August and was a sell-out. I saw this production six times and each time it was funnier than the last. The show was a mixture of drama and pantomime with lots of audience participation. The whole TV cast was there, Galen, heroic as usual doing his best to rescue the astronauts, Brad (John Haden) and Jeff (Geoff Freshwater) and getting caught himself. Urko was as mean, sly and double dealing as ever. Bullying Dr. Zaius and beating his own warriors. The two Gorilla guards (Steve Oxley and John Munday) were absolutely hilarious. Living examples of the expression, "Big dumb apes". The glamour is provided by the beautiful slave girl Pila, (Petrina Derringtor) who captures Astro Brad's heart which leads to a tear-jerking farewell at the end of the show... This is a very good show and the fights were very realistic. Great Yarmouth also had the show but with a different cast. Here the Astros were played by Rory Lister and Mike Dalton. The part of Pila was taken by Angela Daniels (of Sale of the Century fame). The fights were, I felt, not up to the standard of the Stratford show, with the exception of the duel between Galen and Urko. In that, the stunting was fantastic. Hopefully the stage production will go on tour, so keep your eyes open for more news." Fight Director Mike McCarthy had also penned this original Planet of the Apes theatre script. In the November 1976 ‘Birthday Issue’ newsletter, ‘Big’ Mike Caulfield wrote "that's another of his McCarthy’s talents; playwrite. He wrote the 1 1/2, hr stage play that was so successful this summer; Well done Mike. The show might go to the Kilburn Empire, London, at Christmas, and maybe to Ireland. Irish fans watch out". ‘Big’ Mike’s brother Peter, in the same issue, summed-up a very successful 1976: "Do you realize that the club is now one year old? What a year it has been as well. The Apes have appeared at a total of 38 venues, of which twenty three were straight-forward personal appearances. At the other fifteen venues they performed their arena show no less than 31 times. Also there were the two summer seasons, one at Stratford for five weeks and one at Great Yarmouth for eight weeks. At each theatre they did two shows a day for six days a week. That makes a staggering one hundred and fifty six performances all together. Now the Apes are on holiday - but just where does an ape go to get away from it all??" Although, sadly, no publicity or promotional material from the shows remains on file – as historians say – ‘the sources differ’. In June 2001, staff at the Theatre Royal confirmed to 'Simian Scrolls' fanzine that, in contrast to the enthusiastic claims of TCP, the Planet of the Apes play ran for three days only (19-21 August 1976) and that all performances were matinees – a somewhat more modest theatrical 'triumph' than the one celebrated by TCP. Whether the missing four-and-a-half weeks of Apes performances are an indication of the incompleteness of the Theatre Royal's files (some quarter-of-a-century on) or a reflection of TCP's over-inflated and over-ambitious approach to its work in 1976 remains – at present – an unanswered question. As with TCP's other theatrical claims, it’s not clear if company plans to transfer the show for a Christmas run or preparations for a tour of Ireland, ever came to fruition. Despite their optimism at the end of 1976, it was clear that operations were being wound down. The company had moved from their Piccadilly office to more modest accommodation in Ilford. The January 1977 newsletter carried only news of a few personal appearances that had been made at supermarkets - "To date they have appeared at eight Tesco Superstores as part of the Tesco 'International Fortnight'" - including: * (Before January 1977): Tesco's Rochdale * (Before January 1977): Tesco's Smethwick * (Before January 1977): Tesco's Bolton * (Before January 1977): Tesco's Kingston * (Before January 1977): Tesco's Horwich They also offered another handful of appearances, all part of the deal with the Tesco chain, promising "Galen and Urko will be at these appearances": 1977: * February 11: Tesco's Maidstone * February 18: Tesco's Reading, Berks. * February 24: Tesco's Stevenage, Herts. * February 25: Tesco's Brighton * (Before March 1977 ): Tesco's Irlam, near Manchester ("Urko and Galen went") * (Before March 1977): Tesco's Yate, near Bristol ("Urko and Galen went", a print of a scene from Battle for the Planet of the Apes was signed by Galen when he visited the Tesco Superstore at Yate, and offered as a competition prize in the March newsletter) By March 1977 the newsletter didn't promise any further dates (aside from the previously mentioned engagement at the Newbury Park Synogogue set for August 1977), but said of the Tesco’s appearances: "As always they were well received and proved to be the best attraction the stores had had, the stores did their own intensive local advertising, so if you lived in the areas concerned you probably knew about it. Rumour has it that Swansea and Inverness maybe coming shortly. That’s all for now." The Fan Club had now moved again, to a private address just outside Braintree, as, one by one, staff members left. Peter Caulfield stated: "’Big’ Mike is moving the 'Planet Of The Apes' offices up to Leeds, where he has just bought a new house. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to move there as well, so I shall continue to operate the club from my own office. No more correspondance whatsoever should be sent to the office in Ilford. OK?" Marvel had long since stopped publicising the club, and by the time the Apes were dropped from the Mighty World of Marvel in June 1977, TCP seems to have disappeared without trace, taking the UK’s only official Planet of the Apes fan club with it. Notes * A badge from the time mentions the name of the troupe who did a show as the 'Western Rodeos Wild West Show'. * News-reel footage (perhaps from the ITN report), and 'Super 8' footage of the arena show is said to exist but has yet to emerge publicly. * There may have been a 'Mall Show' in Australia at around the same time, where actors did their bit on a stage inside shopping malls, but this has never been confirmed. * Fox apparently lent costumes to several American circuses in 1976 - a Shrine Circus in New Orleans that year that featured a live appearance by Planet of the Apes characters. An eyewitness recalls: "The costumes appeared to be real, but they were obviously being worn by the circus's regular clown performers. The 'show' was short, incongruous, and very disappointing." * Paula Crist and Bill Blake were performing as 'Zira and Cornelius' in officially-endorsed appearances in the United States at around the same time. * Today, the Apemania troupe in the United States continue the tradition of live Planet of the Apes appearances. External links * 'UK Apemania' article by Rich Cross in 'Simian Scrolls' Issue 4 at Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive * UK Planet of the Apes Fan Club newsletters at Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive * Marvel UK Planet of the Apes comics at Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive References *